Leander Council approves Deerbrooke Public Improvement District

Javier Arguello, left, and Roberto Gonzalez briefed the Leander City Council Thursday on Metro's plans for rail service between Leander and Austin. The council was told track and station improvements will be finished by the middle of next year and additional new metro rail cars have arrived and are being tested.

Posted
Thursday, June 22, 2017 6:28 am

By Richard Leggitt

The Leander City Council Thursday unanimously approved a proposal for the establishment of the Deerbrooke Public Improvement District to help pay for roads, parks and other public amenities in the city's new 300-acre master planned community.

The Deerbrooke Public Improvement District will be the second of three PID financing districts located in Leander. A PID is a special financing district that provides funding for public improvements within a designated area, said Tom Lantis, Leander's assistant city manager and one of the city's economic development leaders.

"Each lot or piece of property within the PID is assessed a dollar amount to pay for the improvements," Yantis said. "The home buyer can either pay the assessment all at one time or they can choose to pay it off over time through their property tax bill."

Rick Rosenberg, a consultant hired to oversee the Deerbrooke PID, said the estimated cost of the latest Leander PID would be $11.7 million.

"Every homeowner will have the same assessment. There will be no special assessments," Rosenberg told the city council. "We are going above and beyond to make sure that home buyers know about the details of the PID."

Other Business

The Leander City Council also received a briefing Thursday from officials of the Capital Metropolitan Transit Authority. Council members were told that an expansion of Saturday and Sunday Metro rail service is being planned and that a number of track and station improvements are expected to be completed by the middle of next year.

"The City of Leander is definitely our partner," said Metro's Director of Long Range Planning Javier Arguello. "We are going to be open to any request to improve service."

Metro Planning Director Roberto Gonzalez told council members that additional new Metro rail cars have arrived and are being tested. He said they will be placed into service after the track improvements are completed. Metro provides bus and commuter rail service to Austin and suburban communities in Travis and Williamson counties, including Leander.